


Twice Bitten and Not Shy

by delmcatee



Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616
Genre: F/M, Past Relationship(s), Sparring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-30
Updated: 2013-08-30
Packaged: 2017-12-25 03:35:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/948151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delmcatee/pseuds/delmcatee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jessica and Danny spar when Danny sticks his foot in his mouth...metaphorically.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Twice Bitten and Not Shy

Jess had been trying to spar with every member of the Avengers with a mixture of success. Some she cornered right away, others put her off before finally caving in, while others still eluded her. Thor laughed at her. Who was she, a mere mortal, to challenge a god? He changed his tune pretty quickly and she found out her venom blasts stung Asgardians but not much else. They did prove more effective with Luke Cage and were very good for blinding him so that she could drive him pretty much where ever she wanted. Logan she didn't bother with as they'd fought off and on over the years but he managed to pin her down for a match anyway. It was all very informative and told her many things about her team mates.

Today it was Danny Rand's turn.

She was very much looking forward to this match. To see how her hodgepodge style of a martial art met up with the formal yet mystical teachings of K'un L'un.

The dojo was slightly cool and the air was dry, with sunbeams making the dust stir lazily. They stood a scant few arm lengths from each other and bowed, one loose fist held within an open palm in salute. As soon as she rose to a stand, Danny struck. _A foot sweep? Really?!?_ Jess thought as she leap up to avoid it and kicked at his head, which he dodged, turning it into an upper cut of his left hand. 

They fought this way – strike, parry, dodge, strike, kick, flip, dodge – for sometime before Danny managed to get a hold of her near a wall. He maneuvered into a joint lock but Jess run up the wall a pace or two to flip over him and turn his hold on him, flipping him down the dojo's length. 

"You said no powers," He chided as he flipped up from the ground. 

"Didn't use any." She countered adopting a loose, capoeira-style, defensive crouch. 

"You ran up that wall. I know you can stick to surfaces like Spider-Man." 

Jess laughed, then. "You're telling me you can't run up a wall? What, those little, yellow booties have no traction?" 

"These little booties happen to be part of the ritual garb of K'un L'un," Danny retorted, stung. The comment reminded him of an earlier time with Spider-Woman, another time when they had fought and so much more. Her smooth skin, the smell of her hair, the way she cried out when...He cleared his throat at the thoughts and returned to the match "And yes, I can run up walls with them." 

He approached her slowly, recognized her pose. Danny knew how quickly it could turn into a flying kick. "What ever happened to us anyway? I mean, I know things happen and I dropped off the map for a bit but I thought we had something pretty good there." 

Shocked, Jess nonetheless kept her attention on Danny's potential for attack. "Excuse me?" 

"Us," Danny said backing off a little. He really wasn't trying to distract her and was honestly curious. Those few weeks had been intense. "OK, I know I disappeared to K'un L'un and then all that stuff with Osborn, not to mention that Asgardian fear guy, but I thought we had a lot of potential." 

"I didn't...Hold up here," Jess said distracted. She bowed to signal an end to the match but waited for him to return the bow. "You bring this up now? You couldn't think of a better time? Like say before I hooked up with Clint?" 

Danny winced at her tone but nodded. "Yeah, sorry. Crap timing." He replied, looking at his feet before looking up through his eyelashes. "Question still stands."

Jessica sighed and shook her head. This really was bad timing. She just broke up with Clint, her best friend had lost her memories, and Jess was going off to space in the morning. "Your timing really sucks." She answered with a scowl.

"Yeah and you're avoiding the question."

"OK, we had something but right now I don't need anything like this. I just broke up with Clint and I'm about to go off into space. I need friends not romance. That's all you're going to get and if that's not good enough, I'm sorry but it's not going to change anytime soon. You don't want to be my rebound. Hell, I don't _want_ a rebound."

"So that's no."

Jess thought for a moment before answering. Danny seemed like a great guy and the things he's done since she's known him have been increadible. How many people would purposefully work to get rid of their immense family fortune once they found out it wasn't gotten under the best of terms? Plus he had been loyal to Luke and Misty Knight for years. She still wasn't sure what happened between Danny and Misty, but a girl could do worse; like an ex-carnie...Jess shoved that thought aside with extreme prejudice. "Let's just say it isn't yes and it isn't no. Let's just be friends now and let the future take care of itself."

"Far enough," Danny said with the hint of a pout.

"You sure?" Jess asked with a bow.

Distracted, Danny returned the bow but quickly returned his attention to the match as Jess did her best to kick him in the head. It really had been bad timing.

**Author's Note:**

> This is sort of time wobbly and takes place after Jess and Clint break up but before Infinity. The idea came to me after reading Brian Michael Bendis' story from 2010's "Breaking Into Comics The Marvel Way", wherein Jess and Danny hooked up. I loved the pairing (much more than Clint & Jess).


End file.
